LeapFrog Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum
by LeapFrog
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Our Price: $39.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.00 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of LeapFrog Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum
Customer Review: Durable, Not Annoying, and Fun (even for daddy)
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this for my daughter and she loves it. She likes to roll it around on the floor and hit/kick it. She was a little under 6 months old when I got it and was having a little hard time sitting up (no problem crawling though), and after having this toy, she got sitting up down pat within a couple of days. It allowed her to lean on it for support while she played it. Plus, it encouraged her to sit up.
She loves pounding on it with her hands for quite some time. Like one other reviewer said, I do wish that you could hear the drumming that the child actually makes a little better. I wish that there was a mode where it only made a sound when you "drummed" on it, but oh well... can't have everything.
Her daddy loves it too. They spend a lot of time after he gets off work playing with the drum and dancing to the music. They have gotten quite a bit of quality "Daddy-Baby" time in.
It is also nice that it shuts off when it hasn't been moved for quite some time. I am sure this really has saved on some batteries. It has some type of sensor in it that can tell if the drum is on its side or if it is upright. If it is on its side and it rolls a little bit, it kicks on, but that isn't a problem. It helps keep the baby interested in it when she bumps it. Also, if it is on its side, it functions differently in the modes. For example, if it is in the "A-B-C" mode, then when it is on its side, it works more like a normal drum. I guess the thinking is if it is on its side, then the child can't see the lights to learn the ABC and is using it more like a drum tucked underneath their arm. I don't know, but just a guess.
I also love the volume. The soft is pretty soft where you can easily talk over it and it is more like background noise. The loud isn't too loud so I was able to take it to the doctor's office and have her play with it in the exam room without other patients being able to hear it outside of the room.
Overall, I would highly recommend this toy. My daughter (and husband) like playing with it. She loves the sounds, rolling it around, chewing on it, and the lights. Very good buy!
Customer Review: Fun but a bit annoying.
Summary: 4 Stars
My niece got this toy for her 1st birthday a few weeks ago. Although I thought it was a neat idea, I groaned over having to add yet another electronic toy to Sofia's toy box. Regardless of what I and her mother think, Sofia loves this toy nonetheless mainly because of the singing and the ability to do her favorite thing-banging/hitting things.
Let's talk about the positives first. As I mentioned above, my niece loves to bang things so getting her a drum was a no brainer. There are a few different options that you can play with. You have an ABC option where each time you hit the drum, a new letter is shown on the drum as well as spoken. You also have a music option where a child sings a song and you can hit the drum while the song plays. The last option gives you the ability to simply hit the drum and the sound produced by each hit is different. Another great bonus is the ability to choose a sound level. There are two levels of sound to choose from.
The Spanish option has the same "games" as the English option except they are, obviously, in Spanish. We don't usually use this side because we're trying to teach her our own language and we don't want to confuse her but I can see why others love the idea that this drum speaks both languages.
And now for the negatives. There are really only two negatives that I can think of. First, as with most electronic toys, it requires batteries to run (3 AAs to be exact). It's uncanny the amount of money that we have to spend on batteries. Obviously if you're considering this toy, you know that this is going to require batteries so this first point may not be important to you. The second flaw is the singing. Talk about irritating. It may appeal to some babies but it annoys the heck out of us adults. Just two things to think about.
Bottom line, this is a good toy but it isn't anything special. You can achieve the same effect using pots and pans and you'd be saving a few bucks as well.
Customer Review: Poor display....and other grandma thoughts.
Summary: 3 Stars
First-time Grandma thoughts......
My 9-mo old granddaughter loves this toy. However, I am disappointed in a few qualities.
1) The product photo shows the "E" well lit up and clearly defined. Not so in real life. The display is much like the old "Light-Bright" toy. The alphabet character flashes very briefly but is not as clear as it shows in the photo. The letters would be much more recognizable if they stayed on the display longer.
2) When the drum is tapped the voice-over says the alphabet character's name very quickly. Too quickly. This would have been a better feature if there was a half-second pause from the contact with the drum skin and the letter flashing/spoken. A child who already has some alphabet experience could probably follow along but as an introduction to letters it would have been much better to have that pause so the name didn't get lost in the child's "tap."
3) The alphabet is said in order a-b-c-d-e-f...... This may not be a bad thing espec for first exposure but a "random" button would have been a nice feature. Would have made the drum more usable as the child got older.
4) There is no setting for the child to just play with the drum. In each existing setting there is the voice-over. Having time to explore the drum without the voice or canned music would have been a big plus.
Overall this is a nice toy. It is attractive and seems to be well made. Love the fact that it comes with batteries already in place. The battery access door is also well secured with two screws (Is this industry standard now? When my boys were young only about half the toys' battery doors were secured with screws.) My grand-baby loves it so far and that's the real test.
Customer Review: This Is NOT a Drum...
Summary: 2 Stars
We've had this toy for about a year. My son (now 1½ old) has never given this toy much play time. I can't say I blame him. I purchased this thinking it would be a good learning toy, but also a drum that he could bang on and make some noise with...not so. While it is a decent learning tool (the letters light up brightly and the voice is clear in it's pronunciation), the drum portion is absolutely useless. When set on the drum setting, banging on it only produces the faintest little tapping noise while lights stream across the top. Those lights will hold his attention for a few minutes, but once he sees that he can't make much noise with it, it gets pushed aside. Overall, I can't say I recommend this. The idea was a good one, but they just didn't execute it very well. If you're looking for a drum, buy a drum. If you're looking for an ABC learning toy, there are many out there, but the two together (at least in this case) just don't make a very exciting toy.Customer Review: Cute Concept
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my infant. He, at nine months old, is finally starting to show an interest in it. He is experimenting with the cause and effect of banging on it, both ends of course, and is quickly learning which end produces the noises. It has three different settings, as well as a 'parent freindly' volume control. It's added feature is that it encourages motor development not only in hand-eye coordination but also in that the baby will chase the toy around the floor as it rolls away from them. The lights and sounds encourage attention and activity from an early age, and the alphabet can be 'banged' out as the child hits the drum. Other setting provide the child the chance to bang out pre-set musical tunes. All children love music and movement, and the settings on this drum provide changable, enjoyable entertainment for an approximate developmental age range of 9 months to 3 years old. An educational toy, hiding learning in fun and music.